Agitating mechanism



May 19, 1931. c. c. PECK 1,805,842

AGITATING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 50, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l YINVENTOR.

CeczZ C. Pec/C/ May 19, 1931. c. c. PECK AGITATING MECHANISM Filed Dec.- 30. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

CeczZC. Pea/E ATTORN Y6.

relationship betweenthe various elements of Patented May 19, 1931 'PTAT E'T Fm:

CECI L c. PECK, OFLAKEWOQD, 0111c, Assn-nos; TO THE Hint CLUTCH MACHINE AND FOUNDRY COMPANY, or o -rivnlminnonro, A ccnroniirron or OHIO AGI'IATING MECHANISM Application filed December so, 1929. Serial No. 417,367.

This invention, relating as indicated to agitating mechanisms, has specific reference to agitating mechanisms adaptable to beused as pulp digesters or toaccomplish like objects.

In a pulp digester or like agitating mechanism, in orderto secure a complete agitation or digestion of every portion of the body of the material it is essential that the mechanism be so constructed that no pockets or dead ends'occur in which some of the material may be segregated. In order'to properly agitate large quantities of materials it is also a necessary feature" of the construction ofv the agitatingmechanism thatthe streams of materials set up therein effect a movement of every portion of the body of material. It is therefore an object of my invention to provide an agitating mechanism which shall have the above-named desirable features.

'In the construction of agitating mechanisms capable of accommodating large quantities of materials, such constructions, where any attempt has been made to bring about a proper distribution of the material therein, are costly to the point-of being impractical. In order to bring about the proper the agitating mechanisms now commonly employed huge castings have been used which, as before mentioned, are costly to manufacture,= as well as exceedingly cumbersome during installation. It is an object of my invention to providea structure inan agitatlng mechamsm which shall have the advantages of low cost and ease ofconstruction, as .well as being readily adaptable to the unique form which the .parts of such mechanism must of necessity assume. Other objects of my invention will appear as the description proceeds. v 7

To the accomplishment' of the foregoing and related ends, said. invention then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims; the annexed drawings and the followingdescription setting forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting; however, but

of various mechanical forms in, which the principle of the invention may be used. In said annexed drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of the agitating mechanism comprising my invention; Fig. 2 is a broken sectional elevation of themech anism illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a -fragmentary perspective view of the connection between the upper and lower portionsof the.

wall of the inner chamberyand Fig. 4 is a.

fragmentary section of mechanism illustrated in Fig. 2 taken on a planesubstantially indicated by the lines 4-4. 1

Referring more specifically to the drawings, and more especially to Figs. 1 and 2, the agitating mechanism here illustrated consists of a substantially cylindrical tank or vat 1' which is formed of a hollow cylindri cal shell filled with concrete orother like.

material, as most clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The outer shell 2 has a substantially flat bottom 3, and the bottom'of the inner shell 4 is substantially concave and formed in the fmanner hereinafter to be more fully. de-

scribed. The' bottom plate 5 the'inner shell 411:5 of suchs'ize as'to leave a substantial opening in what would normally be the lowercorners of the tank. Through this opening the concrete is poured from which the base of the tank is formed, and after such concrete has been filled to the pointindicated' at 6 'a plurality of closure means 7, such. as tiles, are laid on such concrete to present a symmetrical and smooth fillet for the lower. corners of the outer cylindrical chamber. v

' Positioned on the upper end of" the wall of the cylindrical tank 1" are plural'transversely extending sills 8 which support the, agitating mechanism. The sills 8 support the cross members 9, which in turn support a motor. 10. The sills 8 likewise support cross 'members 11', on which are mounted the differential gear housing 12. The differential gear housing 12 has a shaft 13 extending pulley 14. The pulley 15carhousing 12 has dependiag therefrom a bu" bular member 18 which is secured thereto by means of the coupling 19 and which encompasses the vertically disposed drive shaft 20.

The bottom of the outer cylindrical chamber 1 has mounted therein a plurality of spaced circularly disposed legs21 which are formed with stream line proportions, as most clearly shown in Fig. 1. These legs 21 are mounted on suitable enlarged bases 22 which give adequate support for the legs 21 in the concrete forming the bottom of the outer cylindrical chamber 1. Positioned on the legs 21 and rigidly secured thereto by means of the bolts 23, are a plurality of segmental elements 24, which have radially extending flanges 25. The segmental elements 24 are united to form a bowl-like object 26 by means of the bolts 27 passing through the flanges 25. The bowl-like object 26 forms the lower portion of the inner tubular chamber which is formed at its upper portion by the circular plate 28. The circular plate 28 is likewise formed of a plurality of sections which are connected, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4, to the vertically disposed column members 29. The columns 29 are preferably formed of channel members 30 and 31 which are suitably joined as at 32 by welding or otherwise. The space enclosed by the channel members 30 and 31 is then filled with concrete as at 33 to act as a preservative, as well as a reinforcing means. The columns 29 are secured to the cross sills 34 which are carried by the sills 8.

The bowl-like object 26 forming the lower portion of the tubular chamber has a restricted opening 35 formed in the bottom thereof which is bounded by the annular convex wall 36, which along with the outer wall 37 of the bowl 26 forms a receptacle for the concrete 38 which fills this space, shown in Fig. 2 After the space has been filled with concrete the tiling or like material 39 is placed on the face of the concrete, which tiling affords a smooth surface for the interior of the bowl, as well as presenting a wearing surface much superior to the bare concrete; The bowl 26, when formed in the above described manner, provides a smooth surface leading to the restricted aperture 35 formed in the bottom thereof so that there is no possibility of pockets or recesses in which material may become segregated.

The bottom 5 of the outer cylindrical chamber 1 has positioned thereon a pedestal 40, which is in the form of a cone having a concave slope, and the screws 11 embedded in the concrete forming the bottom of the large tank offer additional means for securing the pedestal in place. The pedestal 40 may preferably be hollow and likewise filled with concrete as at 42 to effect a strengthening of the pedestal as well as providing a preservative for the inner surface thereof. The pedestal 40 is centrally adapted to receive bushing 43, which is secured thereto by means of the plate 4 1 and the bolts 45. Bushing 43 is adapted to revolubly support the terminal portion 46 of the depending shaft 20. Embedded in the concrete forming the base of the outer chamber is a conduit member 4? by means of which material may be introduced to, or withdrawn from the tank. 7

Rigidly secured. to the shaft 20, is a propeller 48, here shown consisting of three blades, although any other suitable form may be employed to accomplish the same results. The propeller 48 is so positioned on the shaft 20 that it is slightly below the horizontal plane of maximum convexity of the wall 36, so that upon rotation of the propeller the stream of material set up thereby will be directed in a radial as well as an axial direction. It will be noted that maximum ei'liciency of the propeller l8 along the lines above mentioned will be obtained when the propeller is positioned as described, however, a somewhat different positioning of the propeller may be utilized to efi'ect similar results.

, The relative sizes of the inner tubular chamber and the outer cylindrical chamber is such that the volume of the inner chamber is only slightly larger than the volume of the space enclosed between'the inner wall and the wall of the outer chamber. This relation between the relative sizes of the two chamhers is particularly advantageous from the standpoint of securing the proper movement of the material contained therein as it passes downwardly through the restricted aperture 35 and up around the space enclosed between the walls forming the two chambers and then spills over the outer edge 49 of the plate 29 back into the tubular chamber. i

. The concave formation of the bottom of the cylindrical chamber, along with a complementary formation of the bottom of the tubular chamber, makes the volume of the space between the walls forming the two chambers uniform throughout its entire length. The uniformity in volume of this space insures a uniform condition of flow in every portion of the agitatedbody of material. The formation of the pedestal 40 in the shape of a cone having a concave slope assists inmaintaining this uniformity of the volume throughout the space between the two chambers, as well as a diverting means which assists the propeller 48 in imparting a radial flow to the material passing down through the restricted aperture 35.

By forming the bowl 26 in the manner described, the necessity of a large core casting, t'hich would be very expensive, is entirely done awaywith. The concrete 38 will be attained by the use of concrete alone.

the bowl 26. p the space enclosed by thechannels and poured after the body of the bowl 26 has been installed, thereby greatly reducing the labor incidental to such installation, and the tillng 39 which 18 used to face the concrete affords a protectlve covering for such concrete as well. as aninner surface for the bowl which is much smoother than could be The formation of the concave bottom of the outer shell in the manner described is also particularly advantageous for the same reasons attributed to the peculiar construction of The filling with concrete of 31 forming the column 29 materially assists in reinforcing such columns, as well as preserving the interior thereof. If the columns 29 were not filled with a material such as concrete a certain amount of moisture would .find its way into such columns, resulting in a rapid deterioration thereof, necessitating frequent and expensive replacements.

It will be seen from an examination of the above outlined structure that an agitating mechanism such as is commonly used in agitating pulp is attained which has advantages not found in any constructions now 1. In a mechanism of the character de-.

scribed, the combination with a cylindrical chamber, of a tubular chamber having a restricted opening at the bottom thereof positioned coaxially therein, the wall of said tube around such opening progressively thickened to provide a smooth curve to said restricted opening, and means for produc-.

ing a flow through said restricted opening from one of said chambers to the other.

2. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a cylindrical chamber, of a tubular chamber having a restricted opening at the bottom thereof positioned coaxially therein, the wall of said tube around such opening progressively thickened to provide a smooth curve to said restricted opening, and means positioned in said restricted opening for producing a flow of material therethrough from one of said chambers to the other. i

3. In a mechanism of the-character described, the combination of a cylindrical chamber; a tubular chamber positioned coaxially within said cylindrical chamber; a restricted opening in the lower end around said tubular chamber, the wall of said restricted opening being annular and convex and filled with concrete; and means for producing a flow .of,mater'ial through said .restricted opening to the-other I I y 4-.1In a imechanism of. the character described, the combination with'a cylindrical chamber; a tubular chamber positioned coaxially within said cylindrical chamberg'a restricted opening'in the lower end around said tubular chamber, the Wall of said refrom one of said chambers stricted openingbeing annular and convex; I

an aperture in said wall for filling said wall with'concrete; and means forproducing a flow "o'fz material through said restricted opening from one'end of saidchamber to the other." a l 5. Ina mechanism of theqcharacter described, the combination withv a cylindrical chamber; atubular chamber positioned 00- ,axiallywithin said cylindrical chamber; -a restricted opening in the lower end of said tubular chamber, the wall around said restricted opening being annular and" convex an aperturein said wall for filling said wall with concrete; means for closing said aperture when said wall has 'beenso fille,d;and.

means. .foruproducing a flOW'Of material.

. through said restricted opening from one of said chambers to the other.

6. In a mechanism .of;;the character described, the combination of a cylindrical Chamber; a tubular; chamber posltioned within saidcylindrical chamber; means secured to the lower portion of said tubular chamher, said means including a plurality of seg mental elements adapted to form a restricted opening in the lower end thereof, a hollow annular convex wallsurrounding said aper-.

ture, a circumferential aperture in said wall for filling the same with concrete; and means for closing said circumferential aperture to present a smooth face to said wall; and

means for producing a flow of material through said restricted opening from one of said chambers to the other. I 7. In a mechanismof the character described, the combination of a cylindrical chamber having a concave bottom; a hollow.

wall for said chamber; a circumferential aperture in the concave portion of said wall for-filling the same Wltll concrete; mean s for closmg sa1d aperture when so filled, sa1d closure means presenting a smooth face for said wall; a tubular chamber positioned within said cylindrical chamber; legshaving stream-line proportions for sustaining said tubular chamber within said cylindrical chamber; and means for producing'a flow of'material from one of said chambers V to the other. 8. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination. of a cylindrical segmental members rigidly secured to vertically disposed hollow members filled with concrete; means associated with the lower end of said tubular chamber for presenting a restricted opening thereto, said means including a plurality of segmental members having radially extending longitudinally disposed ribs by means of which said segmental members are joined; and legs having stream-like proportions for sustaining said tubular chamber, said legs, ribs and hollow members in vertical alignment.

9. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a cylindrical chamber, a tubular chamber positioned within said cylindrical chamber, a restricted opening formed in one end of said tubular chamber, an annular convex wall bounding said restricted opening, a propeller shaft vertically disposed in said tubular chamber, a pedestal in the form of a cone having a concave slope positioned in the bottom of said cylindrical chamber and axially aligned with said restricted opening, a bearing carried by said pedestal for supporting said shaft, and a propeller mounted on said shaft in said restricted opening for originating a radially and axially directed stream of ma terial through said opening.

Signed by me, this 28th day of December,

CECIL C. PEGK. 

